Lesson Learned
by Venomous Macabre
Summary: There were very few times where her normal disposition—a reserved, workaholic—would peel away, if only for a short while. Rated T for mature themes, language, and violence
1. No Need for a Lesson Learned!

Well, hello everyone! I honestly have never done a fanfic in this area… ever… before and I honestly have NO IDEA WHY. I love Tenchi Muyo to death.

This fanfic itself is an experiment, something I like to do before ever going into any series for a section. I've only hadn't done that in the Kingdom Hearts area. I'm interested how far I can go for a character without branching on overkill or OOC. Simple, right? Ha, harder than it looks, my friends. TT

I have such a hard time. Anyway, I choose Kiyone for this just because, really, you have a lot of freedom with what you could do with her. She and Mihoshi are the least talked about when concerning past and such, so it leaves what their memories are to a writer's imagination. Yep, you can see where I'm going with this.

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing. I will never amount to the money needed to ever buy Tenchi Muyo and rights. They belong to Pioneer Entertainment.

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She had long since decided that the fish were just not going to bite today. It was a bit of a disappoint for the day, but maybe it was for the best as she had enough fish to keep the Masaki household running for a week about now. She laid back in the canoe—a riggedy old thing that almost seemed to tip over even from the slightest of movement, olive color with wooden benches nailed messily inside, but it worked—preferring to keep her gaze to the light sapphire sky for the time being, a light sigh escaping from Kiyone's lips. The brackish water lapped against the sides of the boat, hearing the flowing energy with nothing by plywood separating her from the cool, fish (and who knows what else) - infested waters.

There were very few times where her normal disposition—a reserved, workaholic—would peel away, if only for a short while. Those were times she appreciated more than anything else. Granted, it was normally in the security of solitude, but there were always times where we need to unwind, whether it was in the deepest corners of our conscience or a location we just find ourselves forever drawn to, much like a private sanctuary to which be called your own. Her cerulean eyes drifted close for only a moment in the muse, a light, wistful sigh finding its way into the open air, past by unnoticed by its creator.

She could recall clearly how angered she became upon receiving the notice, how they had to force her into taking a week off, forced out of her apartment and even the home of her make-shift family. Even as she was packing up for her trip home, she could recall vividly the gritting teeth and the grumbles. And then, there was Tenchi, at least providing some words of comfort for the unwanted vacation ahead: _"Everyone needs some time to themselves, even you, Kiyone. I'm sure things will be fine." _

It at least gave her some ideas that if she had some time off, she might as well use it. Sure, home wasn't the best place to think of when you were trying to relax, especially in her case, but it was the only place she knew would be the easiest (and cheapest) to get to. It was a small planet with part of Jurai, mostly ecological and—tourist, much to her distaste. Growing up there left you with a good amount of advantages, thankfully, knowing which place was the most affordable and still had that beauty that she had learned to love.

She glided her hand along the surface of the dark waiter, feeling the liquid pass through her fingers in a relaxing motion, even whistling a small tune to pass the time as she let the canoe drift for the time being. While she loved the planet, it didn't hold the fondest of memories. Her family was what held the most of her bitterness in the deepest reaches of her mind, but it was more on resentment in her part. Her cheek rested onto the edge of the canoe, her gaze falling to the drifted water as the canoe silently waded through, her frown just deepening at the thought of her own family.

The surname Makibi itself is no secret among the population of her home, a prominent family of politicians in a republic. They had been making the laws for their people for generations and with that came a very strict and close-minded upbringing. While corruption usually lied in the darkest of corners in government, it was as visible as if it were in daylight in Kiyone's childhood, one that steadily became her childhood as she grew older. The woman was often considered a squib among her family members, even as a small youth trying to get the approval of her parents. Her entire childhood consisted of a safety net of carefully constructed lies, but they couldn't account for everything. It was a gradual observation at first; just the smallest of things that she noticed were different between her father and her. The first major one was her hair color, a sharp light teal that was so incredibly unique compared to the rest of her family that it was nearly impossible to say that she was blood. Then, her personality—her strengths and weaknesses—they almost served as a complete foil to both her parents, always a quiet and shy child.

It wasn't until age five did everything fit in and parents, even to this day, were unaware that she had seen it. The way that strange man had slid open the window to her mother's room, how they held each other in such warm embraces that convinced her that the lady wasn't going to return—and she didn't. That was the last time she had ever seen her mother, left alone to a father that wasn't even hers. She doubt the man even knew, a strong one, but gullible to say the least. He was a very, very frightening phantom that loomed in the back of her mind on a daily basis. The officer wasn't alone in that emotion; she was sure, a demon in the senate before he finally keeled over.

Kiyone was about seventeen then when he finally died, assassinated by his very own followers with irony that only Constantine could've done before. So was the end of many great political leaders, but it was mostly the merciless ones that got the boot, much like her own father. She remembered how there were days at a time before she would see daylight again, maybe even weeks concerning her father's mood. Then, you could forget about dating anyone as he believed that only corrupted the mind.

He hadn't an idea that she would never follow the footsteps of her false forefathers. No, seeing the sex, drugs, and bribery all passed through her household only geared her to the goal that would set course to the rest of her life. Sure, she had a few misplaced steps, but it almost seemed to strengthen her resolve to become a strong woman in law enforcement, well known not for a former corrupt political power, but a strong officer high in the ranks.

The first misplaced step was probably her first relationship, a strange boy from her high school. Sure, he was the heartthrob at the time, probably the most popular guy at her school, intelligent and a social light. She wasn't sure what had attracted her to him, but it was the only man her father would ever approve of. Things became more—disastrous, to say the least when they finally started dating. When she thought about it, the two were alike, except the boy wasn't afraid to vent at her. She remembered every single punch to her, not only to her own body, but her pride as well.

Naturally, it was easy to figure what came of it in the end. The next one was ever thinking that meeting Mihoshi would never come with anything good. Sure, at first it certainly did it, but back then she would've never guessed the family she would've made. There, she would never tell them, but they truly made her realize what it was to be human. She could feel some of her honest self crack away with each day with those people, even as chaotic as it always seemed to be in their home.

Mihoshi made her realize that life isn't just about furthering your career.

Ayeka made her realize that not everyone in power was corrupt.

Sasami taught her that friendship was more than just for gain.

Ryoko taught her that there will always be something more to a person.

Washu made her realize that that the simplest of things could have the strongest of meanings.

Tenchi—that lesson was probably the strongest, a small laugh escaping her lips as she sat up slightly. The canoe tipped just a bit too much to the left and down she went, ending her train of thought as she flopped into the water, a loud smack echoing in the river. Birds flew out from there branches at the sudden noise and small bubble floated to the surface to where Kiyone submerged.

Life treated her in the strangest of ways sometimes.

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Hope you like it! I may take this a bit farther later on.


	2. No Need for a Disappearance!

Hello everyone! I'm happy to see the turn-out of my one-shot (two reviews Yay! XD) and am glad to present this for the time being. No, not everything has been plotted yet, but so far… it's complete and utter chaos. Well… at least I'm being honest right? oO

Anyway, the one-shot definitely gives a different mood to the fanfic than the rest will be, so it serves as a pretty strange prologue. Well, I don't even think of it as a prologue if it weren't in the same universe and takes place right before the events here. You'll see.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything here. Nada! XD I'll tell you if I ever do. All characters associated belong to Pioneer Entertainment.

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Chapter 1: No Need for a Disappearance!

He found it very difficult to say no. This was why the woman was now making herself home at the pink, plush couch about midnight with its residents staring down at her with expectant eyes. It was surely an odd spectacle to see the normally cheery blonde slumped at her seat now, drenched from the downpour outside with red, puffy and dark rings of her eyes staring at his dark brown ones. Her dark blonde hair was sprouting out in random places, but squished down with the dampness as he thought she looked to have aged twenty years, a similar look he had seen on her partner on occasion. She truly was a slobbering mess with tears running down her cheeks in a constant pour that reminded him of the rain outside.

Ryoko decided that she would voice her opinion first, materializing in an embrace to him, making his muscles tense just slightly under his PJs. "Mihoshi, what the hell are you doing here so late?" she voiced with a long yawn, stretching her arm that wasn't around his neck behind her. He was too tired to say anything and it seemed the same for Ayeka who merely dragged her feet to the other couch, plopping on a cushion with some sort of grunt of annoyance.

Mihoshi seemed to choke on her own tears for a moment, blubbering incoherently that the two women stared at her with the same weary gaze, wanting nothing more than just return to bed, much like himself. It seemed to pass unnoticed by the Galaxy Police Officer, much to their own dread. The blue eyes finally came upon them, glistening with more tears to come before announcing, "They're sending somebody tomorrow!"

It was easy to tell that they didn't have an idea of what she was talking about, the three sharing collective blank glances at the tan woman. "Um, who's coming down?" he voiced the question that was in the trio's thoughts, adding to the fourth one as his broom closet door opening echoed in the living room, announcing Washu's awakened (and most likely irritated) presence to this dimension. Sure enough, the petite woman came upon the couch, a frown at her lips with her bright green eyes staring intently (and certainly infuriating) to the detective.

"Can't you spare the sob story for the morning and not interrupting my much needed rest!" the pink-haired woman exclaimed with annoyance from behind Mihoshi's position at the couch, hands at her tiny hips. "A genius needs her sleep too, you know!" Mihoshi only responded by putting her hands on her head, a whimper escaping as she didn't respond at first. Tenchi spared a look over to Ryoko and Ayeka, just to see how they were treating all of this. Even Ayeka wasn't feigning attention, her head drifting to the side with her messy violent hair, nodding off into dream land.

Suddenly, she grasped so tightly onto Tenchi's legs that he thought that the blood circulation would cease from there, snapping both Ryoko and Ayeka out of their dazes. "My boss!!" she screamed and he thought he heard another door open from upstairs, but it could've just been the ringing in his ears. "No more time!!"

"Time?" Washu echoed with the raise of an eyebrow, looking at the cowering woman as she sniffed, finally releasing from his legs with an inaudible sigh. He was a bit taken aback at the mention of the supervisor. That was really something Mihoshi would whine to Kiyone and not something that she would be busying herself into explaining it to them, or just the fact that their supervisor was coming down to Earth without the woman's presence in the first place.

In typical style for the bubbling officer, her face contorted to a clean slate, looking away from them with a finger to her bottom lip. "Oh, I thought I said something about it," she mumbled with a lopsided smile, but it quickly turned to a small frown, "Kiyone's a few days late." They continued to stare at her, waiting for an explanation. Nothing came as if it explained everything to what was happening, but really, all it did was wake them up and bring inquiry. There were multiple reasons for it and all of them really didn't make much sense. One was that he couldn't recall correctly if Kiyone had even mentioned when she would be back to vacation, two that they didn't hear about Kiyone disappearing sooner, and three why she would bother spending more time there if Tenchi could recall the teal-haired dreading the vacation for some time.

As if to read his mind, she rubbed the back of her neck, giggling a bit nervously. "Well, I had thought she would be spending some extra time with the family since it HAS been a while since she's seen them…." she rambled for a moment in quick speeds, so much that Tenchi could hardly make out what was being said mostly. She had gone to see her family? He tried to think about a time when she had ever spoken of them, but nothing ever popped up. There was a time where they had talked about their own family lives (except that he didn't have much to say in the discussion since they were pretty much his family life) and when asked, she hadn't said a word, even seemed worried for a moment. Her response was quick and to the point:

_"There isn't anything to talk about."_

"…of course, she wouldn't be there a week late, just like sergeant said, but I DON'T WANNA NEW PARTNER!!" Her sobs snapped him out of his previous daze and he suddenly noticed that she was on the floor. When did that happen? Sasami was at her side as well, probably coming down somewhere in the middle of the rant to comfort the blonde in whatever misery she was in.

"Well, what do you want us to do about it?" In his sleep-induced haze, it suddenly struck them that Kiyone hadn't contacted them about the same time as well. The man tried to think of their messages to them, but they all were about the same, simple and vague, not really explaining what was **really **happening with her. She hadn't even tried to put up the normal attitude that she would around them.

There was one thing he noticed, however, in a transceiver conversation they had between the two. She seemed so much more relaxed than before, even having a looser tongue. There was a sort of smile in her voice that he couldn't remember ever hearing before; such a rarity that he didn't even think the presence was there when she had learned she was promoted. "I want you to go find her!" he perked up slightly as Mihoshi grabbed onto his shirt in a sort plea, looking desperately for his response.

He honestly didn't know what to say and as he felt other eyes leering at him for his response, Tenchi knew that he would be the judge on this late night occasion. He looked back to the light blue eyes, a small frown forming at his lips and decided to give a second thought about the situation. Kiyone was always ready for action in her job, whether or not the vacation was needed. She didn't even like the idea of going on it, so it seemed quite alien (no pun intended) for her to be so late. However, the woman could normally take care of herself just as much as the other members of the household, so the situation could be simpler than what Mihoshi was giving.

A sigh escaped his lips, a dejected one as he thought of how often he found himself in this situation. "Pack in the morning. It wouldn't hurt to see what's going on with Kiyone." The announcement was filled with mixed reactions: squeals of relief emitting from Mihoshi and Sasami, while Ryoko, Ayeka, and Washu seemed to groan to an extent, much lesser on Ayeka's side who merely frowned at the decision. He even thought that he could still catch Washu's grumbles as her small feet marched their way to the broom closet, thus shutting the door forcibly, somewhere along the lines of, _'Damn detectives more trouble than their worth.'_

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She didn't want to be here and the pink-haired scientist decided that she needed that to be clear to her good male friend as he sat at the floor of Ryo-ohki, her own seat comfortable at one of the floating chairs, burgundy in color as she found herself cross-legged and staring down at the nineteen-year-old (1). "Remind me again why I'm here, dear Tenchi?" There, he flinched and she smirked triumphantly as the boy began to laugh nervously, rubbing the back of his neck, purposely averting his eyes from her direction.

"Well, just in case Kiyone really isn't in good condition," he explained in his usual gentle voice that had melted Ayeka and Ryoko's hearts for the past two years, "You would be a big help with that, Washu." The scientist nodded her head, but the smirk didn't fade from her lips, just finding the situation more as entertainment in her ears than anything else. After all, she had suspected that if one of the detectives were to be missing, she always imagined it would be Mihoshi, but not her foil.

The people trailing them were a bit surprising, she thought. While, yes, Ryoko and Ayeka wouldn't dare leave Tenchi to himself and Ryoko loved any excuse to go and create immense chaos (much like herself, she noted), they could provide much use to them in the place they were going. Szünet (2) was very different from the typical Jurai planet, a separate government from them that was gradually gaining momentum. She knew that they had to be wise with what they did for their stay.

"I might as well do some search on this family Mihoshi was blabbering about," with the wave of her hand, the hologram laptop glided in front of her, hovering just inches from her lap. She could hear Tenchi sigh in relief, probably from her lack of putting up an argument. The scientist was fine with it as long as their dear detective didn't find herself coming across her lab.

After all, that just meant that Kiyone would be in her debt and that could lead to a lot more entertaining possibilities than this.

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The news wasn't that puzzling, but he sure didn't like it. He shut the monitor off with a sigh, trying his best to rid the thoughts of the screaming from the other room. It was routine now and would continue to be for as long as she resisted. Knowing her, that was going to be a while, much to his distaste. He groped around the darkness of the room, nearly ramming his foot on the leg of his coffee table before finally plopping onto one of the cushions of the leather couch, the back of his skull quickly finding its way at the edge. Smoke wafted from the bright end of his cigarette, meeting in a dance in front of his dim crimson eyes.

He tapped his chin lightly, trying to put a solution to their newest plight. The company wasn't really that surprising, just merely the kind of company that was them. In a way, it could honestly work for the better of the two, but right now, he just kept himself pissed. Everyone was entitled to have their moments; it just turned out his was frequent. That woman just better be luck that she wouldn't be the cause of it.

That was another thing he wasn't too surprised about. The woman had always been a stubborn one, but he knew eventually she would have to break. He fingered the cigarette and removed it from his lips, exhaling more smoke out to the open air. A smirk perked at his lips when he heard the distinct cough behind, muffled by a cloth of some sort. He didn't bother to turn around as he smushed the cigarette into the ash tray, muttering, "It seems we'll be having company soon."

His partner came to the window in the large room, the moonlight quickly illuminating his white skin as his dark crimson eyes gazed out to the town with an inaudible murmur escaped his pale lips. Straw blonde hair fell over his eyes, a shaggy look much different than his well-groomed style, a long, narrow nose trying to get the last remaining scents of the smoke out of his system, which like normal, was failing pretty well as he coughed into his sallow cloth, his suit nearly camouflaged by the cascading shadows of their living room.

"If they question, then we'll simply tell them her feelings," his partner mumbled, cryptic words, but he understood the message well enough to know what he would be doing next. He nodded his head though he doubted the other man was paying attention very much. "I want this to go off without a hitch, you got it?"

"Yeah, Yeah."

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Aw, this is a pathetically short chapter, but I honestly was running out of ideas without forwarding any farther in the plot. Well, I know that's it's very different than the original one-shot, but bear with me, would you? This is the one possibility I saw in that one-shot, but I'm sure this will bring some interesting fun into this section, no? The two guys in the last scene are original, but don't go flaming at me for doing OCs. A series can be pulled off well with some good OC villains and I think I pulled that off. Hopefully. 

(1): A year after universe, so they've aged.

(2): Pronounced SEE-neht I think. It's Hungarian.


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